Elmer Staats, former comptroller of the United States and a distinguished
public servant, once wrote that public service is far more than an occupational
category. It is better defined, he said, as “an attitude, a sense of duty—yes even
a sense of public morality” (1988, 602). This is consistent with the notion
that public service motives are very important and powerful in motivating
the behavior of the public servants. Public service motivation is based on
an individual’s predisposition to respond to motives grounded primarily or
uniquely in public institutions and organizations (Perry and Wise, 1990). Inother words, there are particular motives that are associated with the nature
of public service work that revolve around service to others and the public
interest. These motives are related to values such as loyalty, duty, citizenship,
equity, opportunity, and fairness. Research has shown that these norm-based,
and affective motives are unique to public service and critical to understanding
behavior in public organizations (Balfour and Weschler 1990; Denhardt,
Denhardt, and Aristigueta 2002; Frederickson and Hart 1985; Perry and Wise
1990; Vinzant 1998).